HI6025 | Accounting Theory and Current Issues Assignment Solution T2 2024
Part A (15 marks)
“The design of the executive compensation plan could impact the company’s financial
reporting and accounting choices, as suggested by PAT.”
Required:
1) Using academic literature sources (at least 3 accounting journal articles) and your own knowledge
of this unit, explain what the above statement means. (5 marks)
2) Provide appropriate examples to support your answer in (a) by selecting and discussing two (2)
relevant disclosures from your chosen company’s latest annual report and/or latest set of financial
statements. (Include screenshots of selected disclosures in your answer.) (4 marks)
3) For each selected disclosure, explain how the company’s executive compensation plan influences
the company’s financial reporting and accounting choices, as suggested by PAT. (3 marks)
4) Do you agree with PAT? Discuss your position by evaluating its strengths and limitations in explaining
the relationship between executive compensation and financial reporting. (3 marks)
Additional Information for Part A:
You must source at least three (3) relevant peer-reviewed journal articles from the academic
literature. Journal articles must be published from year 2005 to current. For peer-reviewed journal
articles, you can search online using Google Scholar (not Google) or access relevant Accounting
Journals via the ProQuest Database.
Some journals can be accessed in ProQuest by clicking on the links below:
Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal
Journal of Applied Accounting Research
The Accounting Review
Journal of International Accounting Research
NOTE:
Search and read several articles before you select the articles you will use for the assignment.
Ensure to support your answers with credible sources and references from academic journals,
government publications, and reputable news articles. Also, provide proper citations and references
for all the information used in your assignment. All articles must be referenced using the Holmes
Adapted Harvard Referencing style, with the articles’ hyperlinks added to the reference list.
Part B (12 marks)
Despite the presence of legislation and regulators such as the Corporations Act 2001, the Australian
Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), issues
related to financial reporting and corporate governance still arise.
Required:
1) Using academic literature sources (at least 3 accounting journal articles) write a response to the
above statement. (3 marks)
2) Choose one online article published recently (from 2010 to the current year) in a newspaper,
website, or business magazine that reports a violation of legislative or compliance regulations by an
Australian company/reporting entity. Use this article to answer the following questions:
Summarise the issues reported in your chosen article by identifying:
i) Who were the parties involved? (1 mark)
ii) What financial reporting practice(s) were violated or not complied with? (2 marks)
iii) What were the outcomes of the investigation? (2 marks)
3) Discuss how the issue(s) could have been prevented or minimised in the first place? (2 marks)
4) Based on your findings, provide two (2) lessons accountants in Australia can learn from. (2 marks)
Additional Information for Part B:
Your online article or news article must be published from year 2010 to current.
You should access your online article or news article from newspapers, business magazines, or relevant
organisation websites and accounting websites. Suggested online websites are listed below, but are
not limited to:
- ASIC website https://asic.gov.au/
- FRC website https://frc.gov.au/
- ASX website https://www2.asx.com.au/about/media-centre
- AASB website https://aasb.gov.au/
- CPA Australia website https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/tools-and-resources/financial-reporting
- The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/au
- The Sydney Morning Herald https://www.smh.com.au/
- BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/business
- CNN http://cnn.com/
- Time Magazine https://time.com/section/business/
Search and read several articles before you select the article you will use here.
The chosen article must be referenced using the Holmes Adapted Harvard Referencing style, with the
article’s hyperlink added to the reference list.
Assignment Structure:
The assignment should include the following components:
a. The assignment cover page which clearly states your group members’ names and student
numbers, and all other required details.
b. Abstract (one paragraph)
c. Table of contents
d. A brief introduction or overview of what the assignment is about
e. Body of the assignment with appropriate section headings
f. Conclusion
g. List of Reference